Dec. 9 Capitol Reef

Dec. 9 Capitol Reef

We left Moab, Utah early this morning on our way to see Capitol Reef.  We have decided to stay as far north as possible and see as many of  the National Parks in Utah as possible before the snows arrive.  We have been incredibly lucky so far with absolutely no rain.  It has been quite cold so, full disclosure, we are staying in dog friendly motels along the way.  Trying to camp in the cold was difficult.  Mark did manage to cook a steak one  night  but the wind and the cold was too much.  It was mostly too much for the van.  We had water and heat so we were ok inside but we were really afraid that the water pipe on the van would freeze and then we would be in deep sh..t to say the least.  So, we drained the water in the van and decided to stay in motels until we could get to warmer areas.  The Utah parks are unbelievably beautiful and we are heading to Bryce then Zion before we go farther south.  So far the weather reports are not predicting any snow.

Capitol Reef National Park is about a 2 hour drive south west of Moab.  We hiked a trail that was too difficult for us.  I backed out earlier than Mark but he eventually turned around as well.  The hike trail was very narrow with cliffs on one side and canyon walls on the other.  Slippery loose rocks made walking difficult. There were warning signs of dangerous falling rocks overhead.  Anyway, we got the feel of walking through the steep part of a canyon.

We continued to  marvel at the colorations of the canyon walls.  The reds are deep and dark with layers of white sandstone. As each striated layer was formed, spectacular natural art work was painted on the canyon walls. The sun is low in the sky this time of year causing changing shadows to create moving tessellated art. There is an incredible silence here.  There are so few people traveling this time of year that we are able to walk alone and hear the quiet of the canyon.

Rows of Cottonwood trees are noticeable along shallow creeks or small water ways.  They have lost their leaves but they have many tiny branches that give the tree a smokey appearance, silvery and feathery. In the early morning sunshine the branches glisten with a bit of frost.  These trees are survivors in this arid land.  They seek out water and continue to mature and grow in spite of desperate dry conditions.  Water is life!

Our trip started out to be an adventure of seeing the beautiful sights of the National Parks in America.  It is turning out to be much more.  Mark and I have had many travel experiences and each one has been a wonderful trip in its own way.  This trip is not designed to go somewhere but to be someplace.  It is a slow and careful experience of seeing America and seeing ourselves in the process.  We are approaching 50 years of marriage and our paths have been colored like the layered striations in the canyon walls, the reds, the deep browns, the bright white all forming a picture of our time together.